Panel for convertible cars.



PATENTBD MAY 10, 1904.

J. A. BRILL.

PANEL POR GONVERTIBLE GARS.

APPLICATION I'ILBI) PIL 17. 1903.

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APPLICATION FILED APB.. 17. 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 10, 1904.

JOHN A. BRILL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PANEL FOR CONVERTIBLE CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,661, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed April 17, 1903. Serial No. 153,036. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it 11m/y concern:

Be it known vthat I, JOHN A. BRTLL, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Penn- Sylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Panels for Convertible (Jars, of which the following' is a specification.

Heretofore convertible and other cars have been made with panels that slide in grooves formed in the posts or stanchions. The edges of the panels have been provided with trunnions which engage the walls of the grooves, thus necessitating leaving the grooves empty, except for the trunnions, thereby making' a loose joint, or else the panel has been caused to move bodily at its edges within the groove, in which ease the edges of the panel have to make a substantially tight fit. In use they bind, sometimes swelling under the influence ofthe atmosphere or moisture. If made loose, they rattle and are not weather-tight.

The object of my invention is to overcome these difliculties by providing a panel that will at all times make a tight joint and which maybe made flexible to conform to the curves, be easily movable in the grooves, and yet be tight enough to close the grooves and prevent rattling.

My invention resides in providing the grooveengaging edge or edges of the panel with llexible means, the panel comprising a filling' or backing having an edge or edges of reduced thickness and a juxtaposed flexible covering or strip.

For a more particular description of certain embodiments of my invention reference is to be had to the accompanying' drawings, forming a part hereof', in which-- Figure l is a front elevation of a panel constructed in accordance with my improvements shown supported in portions of two opposing- 7 is a top view of a portion of a panel and a section of a car-post, showing a further modi- Fig. 8 1s a side elevation, and Fig.

fication.

9 is an end view, of another form of panel embodying my improvements. Fig. l0 is a long'itudinal cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 8. Fig'. 11 is an enlarged section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 8; and Fig'. 12 is a perspective elevation, partly in section, on the line L 4: of Fig'. 8.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

I shall lirst describe my improvements as applied to the form of panel indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This panel, generally designated by the numeral l, is composed of the two side plates or sheathing' 2 2 and interposed staybars 3. The plates may be composed of any suitable material, preferably of metal, the essential feature being' that their ends or edges which are adapted to contact with the sides of the grooves shall be springy or resilient. I prefer, however, that the plates be made entirely of a resilient or fiexible material and substantial enough to be self-supporting. In the form illustrated the cross-bars are placed a distance apart, so that the panel as a whole may be bent upon itself to permit it to pass through curved portions of grooves, if it is so desired. The ends 4c of the bars 3 are reduced in diameter, preferably as indicated in Fig. 2, by cutting away the sides, so as to give the sides an angular disposition, as shown, the sides of which converge toward the ends. The result of this construction is that the plates 2 2 or their ends being made of such a size originally that they will fit the sides of a groove 5 of the post 6 snugly will maintain this position on account of their elasticity, thereby preserving' a weather-tight joint and prevent the panels from rattling in the grooves.

The reduction of diameter of the intervening portion of the panel transversely adjacent the groove-engaging edge of the plates permits the latter to be bent inwardly to snugly lit a narrow groove or a reduction in diameter of the grooves due to imperfect workmanship or accumulation of foreign bodies. In other words, the flexibility of the panels at their edges enables said edges to aeeommodate themselves to irregularities in the grooves and maintain a non-rattling andA weather-tight joint.

Instead of extending the ,ends 4 of the interposed stay-bars 3 to the operative edges of the plates 2 2u the said bars or other interposed filling material can be stopped short of the engaging portions of the edges, as indicated at 7 in Fig. 7, thereby securing substantially the same result, although the extended ends 4 of the interposed bars, &c., afford a backing or support for the flexible edges of the plates which is advantageous.

In Fig. 4 is illustrated a further modification, in which one plate, 2, is employed, and instead of another plate on the other side of the bars 3 strips 8 of resilient material are employed, which extend along the edges of the bars and are secured to them by screws 9 or otherwise.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated another embodiment of my invention, wherein the bars 3 have their outer ends reduced in diameter or cut away only on one side-vl. e.,thatfacing the plate 2 so that the edge of the plate on one side and the extended ends 4 of the bars will contact with the groove, the ends 4 being thus made substantially resilient or flexible.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated another form of my invention, in which the panel as a whole is noniiexible or not essentially so, being composed of a board 10, of wood or other material, having its outer edges reduced in diameter at 11,

thereby forming edges substantially resilient or iiexible, and resilient strips 8 are secured to one side of the edges of the board and extend over the reduced portions 11 of the ends.

In Figs. 8 to 12, inclusive, I have illustrated a form of panel which embodies the improvements heretofore described and further improvements in the general construction of the panel itself. The general form of panel is Shown, described, and claimed in the patent to E. S. Buclnam, No. 709,076, dated September 16,1902, and I therefore disclaim anything therein shown and described with respect to the panel construction. Generally the panel construction consists of the two side plates or sheathing 2 2a, as in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3,'having a top cross-bar 12, a bottom cross-bar 13, the upper cross-bar having hand-lifts 14, and the bottom cross-bar sash-locks 15. The plate 2 is the exterior plate when the panel is installed. As in the said patent to Buclinam the side plates at their ends are iixedly secured to either the top or bottom cross-bar.

In the present case the plates are {ixedly secured to the bottom cross-bar 13. One of the plates, 2, is fixedly secured to the top cross-bar 12; but to secure additional iiexibility apart from the resiliency of the plates themselves one of the plates is movably secured to one of the cross-barsin the present instance to the top cross-bar 12. This is secured by forming a recess 16, into which the top edge of the plate 2LL projects a short distance. In the patent to Buclrnam, before mentioned, this recess is formed wholly with the cross-bar. In the present instance my special improvement consists in forming the recess on one of the faces of the cross-bar (either the top or bottom one) and completing the recess by the addition of a plate 17, secured to the face of the cross-bar over the recess and over the end of the plate. Between the plates 2 2L are secured stay-bars 3 and 18, which extend transversely of the plates and are located at suitable points thereon. The bars 3 and 18 are preferably located adjacent each other or as close as they can be placed without interfering with each other.

The ends 4 of the bars are reduced in diameter, as previously described, to operate in the samefway, and instead of the ba'rs'18 extending completely across the space between the -two plates, as they do in the before-inentioned Bucknam patent, they are made narrower than said space. The object of this is that the flexibility of the edges of the plates can be availed of without interference from said bars. y

In order to avoid using an inner plate as high as the panel, I use a short inner plate 2, which extends substantially between the inner edges of the top and bottom cross-bars 12 and 13, and to produce the resilient edges thereon additional strips 19 and 20 are secured to the inner face of the top and bottom crossbars. This permits the hand-pulls 14 in one case and the sash-locks 15 in the other case to be secured directly in the face of the top and bottom cross-bars, and thus avoids securing these parts to the plate, which is disadvantageous if made of metal and saves the additional height of said plate.

The outer and lower angle of the upper cross-bar 12 is chamfered at 21 to aid the bending of the panel in turning curves in grooves, and the edges of the plate 2n may have an extension 22 beyond the edge of the plate 2 for engagement with an additional groove, as shown in the patent to Brill 8a Haddock, No. 7 22,280, dated March 10, 1903.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is* 1. A panel, comprising a filling having an edge of reduced thickness transversely, and a resilient plate or sheathing secured to said tilling, in juxtaposition with said reduced edge.

2. A panel comprising two exibleplates, and interposed lilling, said filling having an edge of reduced diameter, whereby the portions of the plates adjacent said edge may resiliently act without contact with the filling.

3. A panel comprising two plates with elastic edges, and an interposed filling having an edge cut away to reduce its diameter, adjacent the edge of said plates.

4. A panel comprising two plates, a series IOO IIO

of bars transversely disposed between said plates and spaced apart, the ends of said bars being reduced in diameter between the adjacent edges oi' the plates, substantially as described.

5. A panel comprising a filling with chamfered edges, a plate or sheathing covering said filling, the edges of which are adjacent said chamfered edges.

6. A panel comprising a filling with chainiiered edges, and a plating or sheathing extending adjacent to the said charni'ered edges, and adapted to form a flexible edge for said panel.

7. A panel comprising a filling and flexible plates secured upon the said filling, the edge of the filling adjacent the edges of the plates being reduced laterally in diameter.

8. A panel comprising an interposed filling, plates or sheathing secured to said filling, the space between the adjacent edges of said plates being free from the filling.

9. A panel comprising the transverse bars 3, a plate or sheathing 2, 2, secured to the bars, the ends of the bars adjacent the edges of the plates being cut away on diagonal lines converging toward the edge of the plates.

10. A panel comprising a plate as 2, transverse bars secured on one side of the plate, the ends of' the bars being eut away on lines converging toward said ends, and a strip as 8 secured to said bars on their sides opposite the1 plate 2 and extending over their cut-away en s.

11. A panel comprising a board as 10, one edge of which is cut away or chamfered as at 11, and a resilient strip as 8 secured to said board adjacent to said cut-away portion.

12. A panel comprising top and bottom cross-bars, a flexible plate secured to said bars on one side, one of said bars being provided with a recess, a strip secured to said bars over said recess, and a flexible plate secured to the other cross-bar, its other end being received in said recess between the cross-bar and said strip.

13. A flexible panel comprising the top and bottom cross-bars, a flexible plate or sheath ing secured to said bars, and stay-bars interposed between said plates, one set of' stay-bars extending between said plates and having chamfered ends, and the other set being of less diameter than the space between said plates.

14. A panel comprising top and bottom cross-bars, a flexible plate secured to said cross-bars, another flexible plate secured on the other side of' said cross-bars, and the added strips 19 and 20 secured to the top and bottom cross-bars respectively above and below the edges of one of' said plates.

15. rlhe panel comprising the cross-bars 12, 13, the plates 2, 2" secured thereto, transverse stay-bars between the plates, one of said crossbars having an inwardly-extending cut-away portion 21 at the rear of one of the plates.

Signed at the city and county ol' New York, State of New York, this 16th day of' April,

JOHN A. BRILL. Witnesses:

CHAs. G. HENSLEY, SOPHIE SnKosKY. 

